B.C. family celebrates five generations at the fair

Schwaerzle clan takes part in the agricultural displays as part of the 4-H movement

Debbie and Ken Schwaerzle with their granddaughter Cassidy, 13. With Cassidy’s arrival, five generations of the family have participated in the agriculture component of the PNE fair which starts Saturday, August 17.

Photograph by: Jenelle Schneider
, Vancouver Sun

For a 4-H club kid, showing your prized calf or horse at the PNE is pretty special.

When 12-year-old Cassidy Schwaerzle rolls into the fair from the Okanagan to take part in the open dairy section, there will be something extra special about her visit.

With her arrival, five generations of one family will have taken part in the PNE’s showcase of B.C. agriculture. She represents the fifth.

Her grandparents, Ken and Debbie Schwaerzle, who run a dairy farm in Agassiz, couldn’t be prouder.

They have been part of the agricultural 4-H clubs, a key part of the fair, for almost 100 years when you add their years of service together.

Making the annual trek to the PNE is a well-established summer ritual for them. Their five children have been heavily involved in the fair. And Debbie’s parents and grandparents were there before them. Debbie, 53, hasn’t missed a fair since she was born.

“We used to say that was our summer holiday,” said Ken, although it’s not all that restful. It involves moving a lot of livestock from country to city, showcasing it, then moving it back to the country.

For him, the pleasure comes in seeing new members flourish, in seeing older members moving on to new things, many of them using the leadership skills they acquired in 4-H, and seeing how the whole 4-H community works together.

Following tradition, Cassidy’s arrival at the PNE with the cow she raised in tow is a much-heralded event in the family.

“She is a very sweet girl,” said Ken. “It will be very nice to have her there. My wife is all excited.”

Like many longtime fairgoers whose history is steeped in the PNE, Ken grows wistful about some of the long-departed features while trying to embrace the new.

When he started going to the fair, there were open animal shows featuring beef, dairy, swine, sheep, goats, chickens, you name it. It was more of a competition among rural farmers.

Now the agriculture component, which has been a staple of the fair throughout its 103-year history, is geared more toward educating the largely urban audience.

Ken misses the topographical map of B.C. that was embedded in the floor of the former B.C. Building, a woodworking wonder that took seven years to build and was made up of 968,428 pieces of plywood. “Not many people remember the map anymore.”

Way back when, if you wanted to buy food, you headed to the food building. Now, concessions are scattered throughout the grounds. While missing the old days, Ken finds himself enjoying the chicken from Henry’s Outdoor BBQ Chicken and food from the upstart Shrimp Boat started by the PNE about five years ago.

“Maybe it’s better this way.”

And maybe it’s a good thing that city slickers are learning milk doesn’t come from the supermarket. “A dairy farmer knows differently.”

Ken has enough common sense to know that change is inevitable. And he has nothing but praise for the PNE organizers.

“They really put on a great show. The PNE bends over backwards for the 4-H kids. They really put their hearts out to them.”

Christie Kerr, agriculture manager at the PNE, discovered first-hand the need to better educate city dwellers from an experience she had when she first started coming to the fair. She was an 11-year-old 4-H kid back then, with her horse from her family’s farm in Deroche.

“Oh, look honey, at the little goat in there,” she recalled one parent saying, pointing at her horse.

While some things change, others stay the same. The baby chicks and the draft horses are still crowd favourites.

“That’s one nice thing about us,” said Kerr, who has worked at the fair for 15 years and still lives in Deroche. “No matter how much the fair changes, people still love to see the animals.”

Far from diminishing in popularity with changing times, she senses the appetite for the agriculture component has grown. “This might be a Vancouver kid’s only chance to come and actually pet some animals.”

For the first three days of the fair, 43 4-H clubs come in, occupying a good chunk of the Agrodome and adjacent stalls and bringing a youthful flair to the barns. When they clear out Aug. 20, about 250 horse exhibitors move in for the Pacific Spirit Horse Show, featuring such equestrian delights as cattle penning, barrel racing and show jumping.

There is still more to this story.

There are llamas, a mama pig and her piglets, ducks, miniature ponies. There is even a buffalo coming this year.

Then there are crafts, clothing, yarn, honey, berries and a discovery farm where kids can collect produce, dig up carrots and milk cows as they would on a real farm.

“That’s been fantastic” said Kerr, adding about 25,000 kids go through the discovery farm each year.

“We try to give the public a taste of everything.”

It’s all great fun, said Kerr.

And “you might pick up a thing or two that didn’t know by the time you leave.”

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Debbie and Ken Schwaerzle with their granddaughter Cassidy, 13. With Cassidy’s arrival, five generations of the family have participated in the agriculture component of the PNE fair which starts Saturday, August 17.

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